Belagavi: Dismissing the land grabbing charges made by BJP spokesman N.R. Ramesh, Urban Development Minister Roshan Baig said that the land in question was allotted by the cabinet and it was not a case of land grabbing.
“Let the opposition leader raise the issue in the Legislative Assembly and let there be a joint legislature committee. If I or Danish Publication have committed any mistake, I am ready to face the consequences,” he said.
The land was allotted when Mr H.D. Kumaraswamy was the chief minister and not during the tenure of Mr Dharam Singh. The issue is before the Supreme Court, he told DC. Danish Publications was registered in 1999 and brings out Urdu newspaper Siyasat, which has headquarters in Hyderabad. Earlier, it had an office on Infantry Road, which was destroyed in a fire. Later, it was moved to share office premises on Queen's Road. Since the government has allotted land for many mainstream newspapers, even Danish Publications applied for land to set up office premises,” he said.
The proposal was cleared at a BBMP meeting and the final decision was taken by the cabinet. Later, some individuals went to court, questioning the allotment. “The verdict went against the allotment and we have moved the issue before the Supreme Court. It is still pending before the apex court,” Mr Baig said.
